This invention generally relates to oarlocks, and more particularly to oarlocks designed to readily receive oars and to hold those oars in place during normal and abnormal conditions.
Oarlocks are secured to the sides of boats and are used, first, to support and hold oars while those oars are being used to row a boat and, second, to provide the necessary reactionary forces between the boat and the oars to propel the boat through the water. Normally, rowboats are provided with either two or four oarlocks. For example, boats that are used by lifeguards to reach swimmers who need help usually have two oarlocks near the front of the boat, with one of these oarlocks on the left side and the other one on the right side of the boat, and two oarlocks closer to the middle of the boat, again with one of these oarlocks on the left side and the other one on the right side of the boat. One lifeguard stands in the stern of the boat, facing forward, and rows with two oars extending through the front pair of oarlocks. A second lifeguard sits in the bow of the boat, facing rearward, and rows with two oars extending through the second pair of oarlocks.
While there are many different specific kinds, generally oarlocks have a U-shaped upper part and either a bottom stem or pin, or a bottom connecting base. An oarlock with a bottom stem or pin is secured to a boat by sliding the stem or pin into an opening formed by a bracket that is bolted to a side of the boat. An oarlock with a bottom connecting base is secured to a boat by simply bolting the base itself to the gunnel or top sidewall of the boat. One difficulty with oarlocks of these general types is that oars occasionally come out of the tops of the oarlocks. This may be caused, for instance, by a large wave, by failing to immerse the blade of the oar into the water during a rowing stroke, or by immersing the oarblade too deeply into the water. Often, when an oar comes out of an oarlock, the rower is unable to hold onto the oar and the oar is lost overboard.
The consequences of a lost oar are, at the very least, inconvenient, and, at worst, tragic. For instance, if the boat is in very heavy waves, without the proper number of oars, the rower or rowers may be unable to control movement of the boat properly, and waves may drive the boat against rocks or other obstructions that may literally tear the boat apart. If the boat is being rowed to save a troubled swimmer, the loss of the oar may cause the boat to fail to reach the swimmer in time to save his or her life. In addition, rowboats are often raced, and a rower may lose valuable time if an oar comes out of an oarlock during a race.
In addition, occasionally it is necessary to eject an oar through an oarlock in order to prevent damage to the oar. For example, if an obstacle such as a rock is in the path of the blade of an oar, often the easiest, quickest and surest way to move the oar blade out of the way of the obstruction is to eject the oar outward through the oarlock, along the longitudinal axis of the oar. If the oar cannot be released in this way, it may be virtually impossible to prevent the obstruction from damaging or breaking the oar. While releasing the oar through the oarlock is usually undesirable since it normally requires extra time and effort to subsequently retrieve the oar, releasing the oar in this way is better than having the oar damaged or broken.
Various prior art oarlocks have been specifically designed to reduce the risk that oars may come out of the tops of the oarlocks. Such oarlocks are shown, for instance, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,286,769 and 2,529,357. The oarlocks disclosed in these patents have open top ends, however, and thus do not completely prevent an oar from moving vertically out of the tops of the oarlocks. Moreover, the oarlocks disclosed in both of these patents are designed to prevent an oar from sliding through or off the oarlocks along the longitudinal axis of the oar. Because of this, it is difficult for a rower to eject the oar through the oarlocks when necessary.